Orix begins developing 82MW of PV capacity across 17 Japanese sites

Orix Corporation, a Japanese financial services group, has announced it will begin developing 81.6MW worth of “mega-solar” PV plants at 17 sites across Japan.

The 17 projects include four joint projects with Kyudenko Corporation, three of which will be constructed in Kagoshima and one in Fukuoka. They are expected to come online between July 2013 and December 2014.

The first of the 17 projects expected to become operational will be a 2.2MW PV plant in Kagawa in July 2013. It will have an annual output of 2.5 million kWh. Meanwhile, the largest project will be located in Hokkaido with a total capacity of 17.5MW.

In total, the 17 solar projects have an estimated annual output of 90.48 million kWh which is said to be equivalent to the annual power consumption of around 25,100 households.

This development plan will help bring Orix’s “mega-solar” power generation business closer to its target to build 100MW of large-scale PV plants in three years. The plants will be constructed on land leased from companies, local governments and other landowners.

Orix also operates a roof rental solar power generation business which is engaged in installing PV systems on rented roofs of large facilities owned by companies and local governments, among others. In this business, the company has also set a 100MW target to be reached within three years.